


Floret

by retrodecahedron



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Gen, Mountains
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-28
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-07-10 21:05:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7006846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrodecahedron/pseuds/retrodecahedron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The gang goes mountain climbing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Floret

Mount Fuji loomed against the cloudy skies with its symmetrical peak symbolically dusted in snow. Nozomi glanced over at her companions. Nico was scowling as she was notorious for doing so but her eyes lacked that lighthearted bashfulness to them they usually possessed in exchange for something much darker, much emptier, and Eli, her beautiful Eli with her face full of reined fear, gave her a small smile and nodded. She felt her unease abate slightly with her friends serving as constant reminder that it could have been worse. She could have been alone again. There was a small piece of shame she felt for her selfish thoughts despite the others being gone. She shook the them from her head, and refocused herself on the task at hand. It was too late to renege on this now. They had a mountain to climb. 

Nearly an hour later, they reached the Fujiyoshida Sengen Shrine which essentially marked the base of the mountain. Nozomi offered a prayer to Konohanasakuya-hime as did Eli, while Nico just sat off to the side and watched the sky indifferently. After their prayers, Nozomi and Eli exchanged a look of concern and as they did so, they heard Nico's footstep which furthered away from them. They hastily followed her and eventually reached the stairs to the Torii gate indicating the entrance of trail they were about to embark. With the sense of unrest at its pinnacle, they bowed and they entered. 

The snowy terrain was initially flat with smells of damp bark which filled the air. They took a brief break, and Eli distributed the pilfered food among them. Nozomi noticed that she gave herself slightly less than what she gave to them. She frowned and insisted that everyone must get equal portions, and offered to carry the food. In response, she got the expected answer from Eli, "No, Nozomi. You are already carrying too much. We must distribute the workload evenly as well".  
Nozomi looked at Eli with what she hoped conveyed that she would intervene if she continued to be overly selfless. Too much selflessness wouldn't get you far here, but she felt much relief that Eli still retained her kindness. She knew this got through as Eli looked at her as if she conceded, which Nozomi barely had to decipher from her expression. She expected nothing less from her childhood friend. She is eternally grateful to the Gods for blessing her existence with favourite person in the world. Grateful that Eli opened herself up to her, shedding that icy exterior, and unveiling her giant heart.  
They continued to eat and Nozomi sat next to Nico and placed an arm around her shoulders, "Nico-chi. It will be okay. This is what she would have wanted".  
Nico remained silent and showed no signs of acknowledgement as she vacantly ate her food.

Not long after, the Sun's descent through the sky indicated a rapidly approaching nightfall. They began to set up their modestly sized tent, also stolen as Nozomi ruefully noted, with a fair amount of success and they got in. The air was slightly less stale and colder than the outside but that was not saying much. Determined to expel some of restlessness, Eli proposed a game before they slumbered with Nozomi's hanafuda cards. Nozomi clapped her hands together in agreement and said, "That sounds like a wonderful idea. What do you think, Nico-chi?"  
She shrugged and shuffled towards them which created triangle between the three of them. Nozomi smiled, and proceeded to prepare the cards. As they played, they spoke briefly of their plans for the following day.  
"We should reach the peak by tomorrow evening if the weather allows it", Eli said as she placed a pine card down.  
"If the weather allows it", Nozomi echoed. 

After two rounds, Nico excused herself and headed off to sleep. Nozomi and Eli kept on playing until they heard heavy breathing, quietly interrupted by the occasional stream of panicked words with 'Maki' being the predominant subject, that came from her sleeping bag. Nozomi gently put down her cards and Eli did the same. Nozomi broke the tension and whispered, "What are we going to do about her?"  
"She... just needs time", Eli replied.  
She looked as uncertain as Nozomi felt and Eli abhorred being uncertain about any issues, especially regarding her friends. She was a natural leader and any problem that remained unresolved was a notch in favour of her incompetence. Nozomi sensed the discord that brewed within her so she wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. Eli reciprocated the embrace. After a while, they unwrapped their arms from each other and Nozomi rested her head on Eli's shoulder covered with her blonde hair. She curled the strands of Eli's hair around her fingers, and brought them towards her nose. They watched as Nico remained in a state of discontent illuminated by the battery powered lamp. It was distressing seeing her like this, but she needed the rest.  
"Let's go to bed, Nozomi. We have a long day ahead of us", Eli said.  
They prepared their sleeping bags and drifted of to sleep with the persistent sounds of each other's breaths suffocated by the silence of the mountain. Their hands found each other and they clasped tightly together remaining like that throughout the night.

The new day brought colder temperatures and a darker sky. The freezing winds which wrought more snow with them inevitably picked up much to Nozomi's dismay. She was never too fond of the cold and what came along. Her happiest memories came packaged within the fleeting Summer days. With the Sun at its apex in the sky after a particularly tough routine, they bring out Nico's inflatable pool, and indulge themselves with watermelon and any other fruit they are able to obtain. The nights are reserved for sleeping over at Maki's exquisite guest house, while they tell each other their personal and their funny anecdotes. Of course, there are the pillow fights, and insistence of remaining awake despite Umi's, and sometimes Eli's, protests. They always cave in though.  
Her heart started to ache. She held her trekking pole between her arm and torso, and slapped her cheeks with her mittened hand with as much force as she could muster in an attempt to bring herself back to the present. She sighed, despite the many layers of coats she donned, she still felt the cold, which dug down and chilled her to the very bones. Eli turned back with concern and she saw Nico's pace slow down. She raised an arm to indicate that she was okay. They had too little time to stop now.


End file.
